West Africa: Ghana – Farmer-to-Farmer Program (FtF)

Working to generate rapid, sustained and broad-based economic growth

ACDI/VOCA is implementing a five-year, USAID-funded Farmer-to-Farmer (FtF) program in Ghana in a consortium with Land O'Lakes and Winrock International. Through FtF, ACDI/VOCA will help strengthen five components of the producer-to-market agricultural system: farm production, post-harvest handling, intermediate and final processing, retail and wholesale sales, and local and regional markets.

ACDI/VOCA is a leader in the use of expert volunteers in international development work. Over the years, we have placed expert volunteers in over 130 developing countries and emerging democracies. Short-term volunteer consultants advise local farmers on technology transfer, quality control, product diversity, business strategy and human resources management, among other agribusiness issues. With the volunteers’ expertise, ACDI/VOCA works to improve the quality and viability of agricultural support institutions and financial institutions that provide much-needed resources to the agricultural sector.

The ACDI/VOCA team will field at least 119 volunteers in Ghana over the next 5 years, focusing on the horticulture and staple foods subsectors. The program also supports the expansion of nontraditional horticulture exports. Expert volunteers providing technical assistance to farmers and farmer-based organizations make recommendations on how to strengthen existing capacity and upgrade the technical and business skills of producers and exporters.

Technical assistance is market oriented in order to help farmers respond to market needs in terms of product quality and production timing and volume. Recommended technologies include both environmentally sound production technologies to produce high-quality products and post-harvest technologies to maintain the quality after harvest.

Volunteers also provide training to associations and private sector firms on how to meet market requirements in terms of quality, traceability and food safety protocols. FtF volunteers help organized farmers obtain GlobalGAP, BRC, HACCP and organic production training, which enables them to join exporting networks and leads to dramatic increases in incomes. The volunteers help these groups meet the recordkeeping and managerial requirements to achieve GlobalGAP certification, and assist organizations in developing more complete business management systems.

Lastly, the FtF program provides ACDI/VOCA’s signature Farming as a Business (FaaB) training to farmer groups and provides support in the implementation of managerial and financial systems. Special emphasis is placed on business planning, supply chain management, cold chain analysis, crop budgeting, production planning, profitability and simple business analysis techniques to facilitate expanded exports.

The international food crisis and the high world market prices of maize and other staple grains create opportunities for Ghana’s farmers. Current demand in the food and feed industries domestically outstrips the supply, which results in buyers turning to imports. FtF volunteers are developing the capacity of local farm organizations, food processors and agricultural support organizations to satisfy the increasing demand for staple grains and other food crops.

For more information contact Meredith Jones mjones@acdivoca.org.

Updated: 4/09

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